Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, a print control method and a program for printing an image on a recording medium.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been a known printing system which includes a printing apparatus and a test apparatus. The test apparatus reads an image printed by the printing apparatus and sequentially examines the read image for defects. In such a printing system, when a defect is detected from an image, a cause of the defect is identified based on the range or type of the defect and whether it has occurred accidentally or continuously, for example, and the necessity for maintenance on the printing apparatus is determined. For this, in order for the test apparatus to identify the cause of a defect on an image, detection with high precision may be required.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-27798 discloses a method including selecting defect types in a stepwise manner by a user based on the occurrence state and a phenomenon of an image defect, then printing a test pattern associated with the selected defect type by the printing apparatus, and acquiring a test result from the printed test pattern.
Some ink-jet type printing apparatus may print on a continuous sheet such as roll paper by using a line head having nozzles aligned in a direction perpendicular to a sheet conveyance direction. In such a printing apparatus which handles a continuous sheet, a stoppage of a printing operation due to some cause during the printing operation may require some preparation operations such as reversing the continuous sheet on a conveyance route, pulling out the continuous sheet for starting the printing again and performing registration adjustment for discharging ink, which may take time and lower the print productivity, disadvantageously. It is important to prevent such a stoppage of the printing apparatus as much as possible for continuous operation time.
According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-27798, in order to improve the precision of detection of an image defect, a cause thereof is identified by stopping a normal printing operation once and then printing a special test pattern. However, such a printing apparatus handling a continuous sheet as described above in combination with a test apparatus according to the method is stopped every time when an image defect occurs. On the other hand, a printing apparatus which is not stopped at all even when an image defect occurs may produce a large amount of failed printed material though the operating time is not reduced, resulting in a higher false-related cost and requiring a higher cost for re-printing.